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First Tugboat Reaches Adrift Carnival Ship

The first of two tugboats reaches a vessel operated by the cruise operator that went adrift following an engine fire.

The first of two tugboats have reached an adrift cruise ship operated by Carnival(NYSE:CCL), the company said in an update on its website. The ship has been floating adrift in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine fire that occurred Sunday morning. Although the fire was extinguished, it left the vessel without propulsion.

The company plans to tug the ship to Mobile, Ala. That port is equidistant to Progreso, Mexico, the location where Carnival originally planned to take the vessel. Strong winds have since moved the stricken ship closer to Mobile.

Carnival said it has maintained constant contact with the vessel's officers and that all passengers are safe. Every passenger will be given a full refund, transportation expenses, and credit for a future cruise.

The planned cruise was to last four days. It sailed from the port of Galveston, Texas, last Thursday.

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Eric has been writing about stocks and finance since the mid-1990s, when he lived in Prague, Czech Republic. Over the course of a varied career, he has also been a radio newscaster, an investment banker, and a bass player in a selection of rock and roll bands. A native New Yorker, he currently lives in Los Angeles.